Spring 2014 MnDRIVE Seminar Series

Abstract

Bridging the theory-practice gap in engineering education is a well-known hard
nut to crack. In this talk, I will discuss how this can be approached both in a
MOOC (Massive Open Online Course) setting and in a flipped classroom. Based on
my recent MOOC, Control of Mobile Robots, I have flipped the classroom in a
senior robotics and controls class at the Georgia Institute of Technology. The
students take the MOOC and come to class prepared to program robots. I will
discuss why engineering classes make ideal flipped classes yet present real
challenges for meaningful online learning.

Biosketch

Magnus Egerstedt is the Schlumberger Professor in the School of Electrical and
Computer Engineering at the Georgia Institute of Technology, where he serves as
Associate Chair for Research and External Affairs. He received the M.S. degree
in Engineering Physics and the Ph.D. degree in Applied Mathematics from the
Royal Institute of Technology, Stockholm, Sweden, the B.A. degree in Philosophy
from Stockholm University, and was a Postdoctoral Scholar at Harvard University.
Dr. Egerstedt conducts research in the areas of control theory and robotics,
with particular focus on control and coordination of complex networks, such as
multi-robot systems, mobile sensor networks, and cyber-physical systems. Magnus
Egerstedt is the Deputy Editor-in-Chief for the IEEE Transactions on Network
Control Systems, the director of the Georgia Robotics and Intelligent Systems
Laboratory (GRITS Lab), a Fellow of the IEEE, and a recipient of the ECE/GT
Outstanding Junior Faculty Member Award, the HKN Outstanding Teacher Award, the
Alum of the Year Award from the Royal Institute of Technology, and the U.S.
National Science Foundation CAREER Award.